Not far from where my folks lived on Mound Avenue in Cedar Rapids, was Bever Park and its zoo. We liked to visit the zoo, play on the equipment there, and enjoy a day out. Here we are...Diane behind me on the left, then me in my fake fur animal print vest (I made it, of course...), Doug and Dave, all looking at the monkeys.
Diane frequently expressed a desire to have a baby pig. In this photo, while visiting the 'farm' at Bever Park Zoo, she got to feed a baby pig it's bottle. I think she was thrilled, but to this day, she has never owned a baby pig (4 Yorkies, but no pigs...) I also have never owned my own horse, as much as I wanted one when I was in my early teens. Some dreams we never quite accomplish, and sometimes it is because other dreams take their place...
This time, I got the camera! Here are Doug, Vern, Dave, and Diane, going up the walk to the monkey pens. Looks like it was a nice, pleasant day at Bever Park!
There's Diane at the top of the fire pole, and Doug has just slid down the pole. This climbing apparatus was located near the old fire engine that was a permanent part of the playground at Bever Park...very cool!
This is a bad slide, but I'm including it anyway because it shows the old firetruck at the park. Obviously, the kids were enjoying playing on that truck! (I will have to work on this photo, and try to line up the truck correctly...we'll see how that goes...)
At the entrance to Bever Park, there was this huge boulder embedded in the ground. It was a great topic of conversation (How did it get there? Is it a meteor? How big is it, including the part below ground?) It was a great place to climb up and get a different perspective on the world!
Here we are at the Walker Lookout Station near Leech Lake. Wow! Look at those wild pants I'm wearing! A very 'late 60s' look!
Nothing quite so fun as a good wade in Leech Lake! What a big body of water...and the water is so clear, you can see the rocks and minnows underneath! Northern Minnesota is still one of my favorite places in the world (as I know it...)
Another split slide, but at least in this one, you can make out what it is supposed to be... Beautiful Leech Lake near Walker, Minnesota. Diane, Doug and me enjoying the nice day!
At the left, just starting across the bridge over the beginning of the 'Mighty Mississippi River' at Itaska State Park, you can see Doug, and ahead of him in the red shirt is Dave...the rest of the crowd are people we don't know... It was always a busy place...
Another top I made...it is a great help to be able to make one's own clothing! Here at the Headwaters of the Mississippi are Dave, me and Doug..and beyond is Lake Itaska.
One year, Sandy and Marc Anthony came to stay with us at Potato Lake. Here are some of us, enjoying a wade in the Headwaters of the Mississippi. Left to right - Sandy Anthony, me, Doug and Diane...
Oops...another split slide, but again, with some work in Adobe Photoshop, I should be able to fix this. Here are Diane and Doug at the Headwaters...
And, here at Lake Itaska, I am with Marc Anthony (the former editor of the Cedar Falls Record, and a friend of ours - now deceased), Doug, the two Anthony boys, and Diane. This was probably in the late 1960s...Diane would have been about 8 and Doug about 9 1/2...
You can see Doug on this kiddie train in Bemidji, but Dave is right behind the guy who is driving, and I'm sure Diane is there too... Just another way to spend a day of summer vacation in northern Minnesota!
Dave and Doug riding another kiddie ride at Bemidji...can't see Diane, but she must be there too...
Aha! Here's the blue and green shag carpeting in the addition to our house! (Dave and Diane clowning around...)
A little 'b-ball' after church...with Dave, Doug and Diane. (Nice, new garage added to the house, too...)
This kitty is named Trixie. (I think we had tile flooring before we got the shag carpeting...and keep in mind, I pounded most of the nails in the sub-floor beneath these tiles!)
More fun play with that cute little kitten... (notice that Doug is holding Diane's hand...the kids did have their moments of being 'sweet' to each other...)
Yes, I antiqued that lamp table, too! Diane and Doug enjoying the new family room in the addition...
We watched a lot of TV in that room...
Watching cartoons in our 'jammies!'
Look at that old television set...but at least we also had a set of encyclopedias!
Doug really 'chilled out' on that family room floor! Probably had a hard day at school...
We should have had some kiddie chairs for them...Diane doesn't look all that comfortable...
Here's more of the shag carpet...Doug's p.j.s look a bit like they've been through more than one football tussle... Notice that already he is a 'Bears' fan!
Now, there's the full outfit!
Thinking about football...
So, it's time to close down for today...come back for more...these kids were awfully cute, and really good kids, and we still have more to cover!
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